Heavy: An American Memoir

By Kiese Laymon

Book Overview

*Selected as One of the Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times*
*Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal and Finalist for the Kirkus Prize*
*Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, Broadly, BuzzFeed, and more*

The powerful, provocative, award-winning, and universally lauded memoir by genre-bending essayist and novelist Kiese Laymon.

Defiant and vulnerable, Kiese Laymon's Heavy is a deeply insightful memoir about what the weight of secrets, lies, and deception does to a Black body, a Black family, and a nation teetering on the brink of moral collapse.

From his earliest experiences to middle age, Laymon traces his complex relationships with his family, his weight, sex, gambling, and writing, naming the secrets he spent a lifetime avoiding. In the process, he challenges us to confront the terrifying possibility that few in this nation actually know how to responsibly love, and that even fewer want to live under the weight of actually becoming free.

Award-winning and universally lauded, this fearless, often comical, and provocative memoir has pushed the boundaries of its genre.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1501125656
• ISBN13: 9781501125652
• Release Date: October 2018
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Raw, honest, heartbreaking voice. A must read for all Americans.

I loved this book. The topic seemed “heavy” when I read about it, but don’t let that deter you. This book will surprise and delight all readers sensitive about the struggle of all boys to grow up in the shadow of a powerful, domineering mother, and in a country that doesn’t fully value its citizens. A wonderful, honest, triumphant story of how to grow tall and strong like a vine, without the proper structures to hold you up, and doing it anyway.